Perak Sultan is STILL Allowing the Political Farce to Continue On

Perak gets a ‘funny’ new cabinet:Barisan Nasional's Perak Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir today announced the appointment of three advisers and a state information chief. According to Bernama, the four will receive perks similar to those received by state executive councillors. Read here for more

Out of 10 exco positions, ‘BN’s menteri besar’ Zambry Abdul Kadir has only managed to fill up six of them. What’s interesting (and perhaps surprising) is that NONE of those four ‘frogs’ involved in the coup d’etat is on the list.

Four advisers with exco status are appointed by Zambry.

Let’s examine the four of them to understand WHY (it is) ‘FUNNY’:

Gerakan’s Chang Ko Youn, LOST in the Beruas parliamentary seat in Mar 2008, is appointed ADVISER for Chinese community affairs.

MIC’s S Veerasingam, LOST in the Sungkai state seat in Mar 2008, is appointed ADVISER for Indian community affairs.

Mohd Najumuddin Elies and Hamdi Abu Bakar are both ELECTED state assemblypersons but are NOT given an Exco position.

For 1 and 2, it is a clear-cut attempt to bypass Perak state constitution, which requires state excos to be elected representatives. Another round of violation of the state constitution, you can say that.

It also highlights how ‘unrepresentative’ of the BN Perak lineup, that it does not have among its elected representatives anyone to represent the major communities of Chinese and Indian. So they have to cook the funny idea of ‘adviser’.

For 3, it is even funnier. Those two are state representativesduly elected by the people. Why are there given a job of an exco WITHOUT the title of an exco? I can only offer one clue: to appease internal factional fights of UMNO Perak.

So, poor Perak, it gets an ILLEGITIMATE state government with a cabinet of six excos, two ‘work-around’ advisers, and two ‘cannot-call-exco’ excos.

A survey conducted by Malaysiakini saw an overwhelming majority of Malaysians are unhappy over what has been going on in Perak, with an overwhelming majority of readers disagreeing with Sultan Azlan Shah's decision in the transfer of power in the silver state.

A total of 34,617 out of 39,411 readers, or 87.8 percent said they were AGAINST the sultan's decision in the four-day survey which ended yesterday. Read here for more

Datuk Seri Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin said today he will soon vacate the last bastion of Pakatan Rakyat's government in Perak after being shut out from his office and now operating from the menteri besar's residence as the seat of his administration.

But the ousted menteri besar still maintained that his administration is legitimate and can operate from any premises, saying he will leave the official residence "in dignity" at the "golden moment" should an eviction notice be issued.Nizar said,

"I have my own dignity. I am not going to be like a stupid, mad boy staying forever until I am officially evicted.

To an extent, this is the last symbol of democracy in this state but we will go beyond that. The symbol will then be the basis of truth and rule of law that we fight for even if we are ripped off of these premises.”" Read here for more

Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) Director Datuk Dr Zaininah Mohd Zain today denied that Changkat Jering assemblyperson Mohd Osman Jailu had been admitted to the hospital recently. Mohd Osman was issued with a warrant of arrest after he failed to turn up for his corruption trial. "Changkat Jering assemblyperson Mohd Osman Jailu was NEVER admitted to HKL," she told Bernama today, in response to the claim by Mohd Osman's sister that her brother failed to turn up for his corruption trial at the Magistrate's Court in Ipoh yesterday as he was admitted in the HKL.

Magistrate Sharmila Abdul Samad issued the order yesterday after Mohd Osman's sister (Norliza) told the court her brother had been admitted to hospital in Kuala Lumpur due to a heart ailment, but she failed to produce a medical certificate. Norliza failed to produce any medical certificate as she claimed that the doctors were still observing Mohd Osman's condition.Read here for more

Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadirstarted his first day as menteri besar today engaged in a rant against journalists. He snapped at awkward questions from reporters at his first press conference. He has been feeling the strain of defending what has been an obviously unpopular and possibly unconstitutional takeover of the state from Pakatan Rakyat. Zambry was sworn-in last Friday by Sultan Azlan Shah at the Istana Iskandariah in Kuala Kangsar while riot police outside quelled a protest by thousands of people. Read here for more

Despite a state-wide ban on political ceramahs, Pakatan Rakyat leaders vowed to defy police orders in Perak and said the ban was a sign of Barisan Nasional’s desperation to win the upcoming Bukit Gantang by election.“We will defy this unfair rule. This is a calculated move to curb dissenting voices,” said PKR information chief Chua Tian Chang, adding that the ban would not stop the party from campaigning. Read here for more

The non-Malay vote in Perak will be very difficult for the BN. This is clear from the response to the defecting Chinese assemblyman Hee Yit Fong. The locals were so enraged that her family is taking the brunt of their anger.Nizar was popular among the non-Malays, and his move to approve permanent land leases for Chinese new villages and vernacular schools was hailed. There is concern now among villagers whether the BN government will continue this policy (but) the new BN Menteri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir has said it was too early to decide. Read here for more